Key retaining device



March 16, 1954 L. w. FOLSCHEID KEY RETAINING DEVICE Filed Sept. 25. 1950 ATTURNEY' D I l 1 I .I Rm -J m f I m .5. .9 m F M Ii. I F m //fl%/ 8 w a M w E I L I AW 7 v; 4 1% w m F w M a 6 I? H o Patented Mar. 16, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KEY" RETAINING DEVICE Louis: W. Folscheid, San. Francisco, Calif. Application September 25, 1950-, Serial No. 186,605

1 Claim. 1

Thi invention relates to any improved key retaining device and has for the primary object the provision of a suitable case for retaining extra or auxiliary keys and to secure the said case to the frame of an. automobile door or other part thereof or to a building door or to any suitable support located in any desired location.

The: primary object of the present invention is toprovide a case for housing and locking up extra keys in a manner enabling the keys to be available in the event the user loses the regular keys carried on his person and to provide a movable key retainer within the case and a combination lock for locking the same.

Another object of the present invention is to preferably construct the case in the form of an elongated vertical rectangular shell and to provide a vertically slidable key holder therein and to form the said shell with an opening in the bottom thereof, whereby the holder is capable of being slidably moved through the same for enabling the keys to be withdrawn.

A further object of th present invention is the provision of a specially constructed lever pivotally secured to the holder for retaining the keys in vertical alignment and to also prevent rattling of the keys and lateral displacement of the same.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a key locker that is durable, K

simple in construction, economical to manufacture and highly eificient and serviceable in use.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification, wherein for the purpose of illustration, like numerals designate like parts throughout the same.

Fig. l is a front vertical elevational view of the case with the key holder therein movedto its lower position, whereby the keys are accessible to the user, and also showing the door covering the combination lock in its open position,

Fig. 2 is a rear vertical elevational view of the case, with the back removed, showing the combination lock in the upper portion of the case and the key holder moved to its lower position,

Fig. 3 is a vertical view of the device, shown partly in section and partly in elevation, particularly illustrating the key holder within the case and the manner in which the key holder is secured to a door or other portion of a building,

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the keyholder, and,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken- 2 through line 5-5 of Fig. 1.. looking in direction of the arrows.

Referring in detail to the drawing and numerals thereof, the numeral 1' designatesthe case as a whole, which case is preferably an elongated vertical housing open at the rear portion thereof as at 8, and upon which isprovided a removable back 9', as disclosed in Figs. 2 and 3'. The front face. Iii of the case is formed with a series of vertical slots ii in the upper portion thereof, whereby the numbers on the combination lock 2, mounted within the cas are made visible. The said combination lock I2 is of any suitable conventional type and is retained therein as at l3 or in any suitable manner.

The keyholder proper is designated as a whole by the numeral 14 and is slidable within the easing '1 and formed with a back wall I5, a side wall H3 and a top and bottom wall I! and [8, respectively. It will be noted, the front of th keyholder and one side portion thereof is open, giving free accessibility to any keys positioned thereon. A suitable pin [9 is fixed to the back wall l5 for retaining a suitable number of keys 2!! thereon, the said keys being apertured as at 2| and suspended on th said pin as disclosed to ad.- vantage in Figs. 1 and 3. A specially constructed lever 22 is pivotally secured to the back wall l5 of the holder, as at 23, and is formed with an inwardly extending portion 24, slotted, as at 25, and into which slot a suitable substantially flat piece of hard rubber or other semi-flexible material 26 is inserted and is adapted to laterally project against the key as disclosed in Fig. 1, whereby a lateral support on one edge of the key is provided. A second lateral support 21 extends against the opposite edge of the key from the support 26 and is secured thereto by the two bent in members 28 and 29, whereby the keys are retained in vertical alignment and rattling or displacement of the same is prevented. A pair of oppositely disposed upwardly extending inward- 1y bent pawls 3!! and 3!, respectively, are fixed on the top wall I! of the holder I 4 as disclosed to advantage in Fig. 2 and are adapted to project through the slots 32 and 33, respectively, provided in the bottom wall of the combination lock l2 as shown in Fig. 5, the said lock being adapted to engage the pawls and locking the same when the holder is in its upper position. The said combination lock and the pawls adapted to b locked therein are of conventional construction well known in the art. An upwardly extending coil spring 34 is fixed on the top wall I1 of the holder and is adapted to abut and be compressed against the bottom wall of the combination lock l2, whereby the keyholder I4 is resiliently forced downwardly the moment the same is unlocked. The preferred method employed for rigidly securing the device to the wall of an automobile door, building door or th like, consists in forming a pair of countersunk holes 35 and 36, respectively, in the door 9, fixed to the case, and in the provision of a pair of elongated bolts 31 and 38 extended through said holes and door or wall 39 of an automobile or building structure as disclosed to advantage in Fig. 3, suitable nuts 40 and 4|, respectively, being employed for tightening the bolts to the wall. From the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, it will be observed that the case can be rigidly fixed to a door or building structure, and the keyholder within the case locked therein by a combination lock, which is enclosed in the upper portion of the case and operative through slots provided in th front wall of the case, the slots being covered by the hinged cover 42. The keys can readily be removed by unlocking and lowering the key holder and raising the lever 22, which lever is held upwardly by the inner edge of the case, as at 43 engaging the notch 44 formed in the lever. A buffer 45' made of rubber or some other suitable flexible material is interposed between the back of the case and the surface of the door or other member upon which the case is fastened, as disclosed in Fig. 3, to prevent marring or otherwise causing any damage to the door.

It is to be understood that the form of my in- 4 vention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the shape, size, material and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A key retaining device embodying in its construction an elongated rectangular receptacle, a key holder slidably mounted therein, means on the key holder for suspending thereon a plurality of keys in a nested position, means including a lever pivotally secured on the key holder for retaining the suspended nested keys together and in vertical alignment thereon, said receptacle having an opening in the bottom thereof, whereby a portion of the key holder is capable of bein slidably extended downwardly through said opening to give accessibility to the keys suspended on the key holder, and means including a combination lock fixed in the receptacle associated with a pair of pawls fixed on the top portion of the key holder for locking the same within the receptacle.

LOUIS W. FOLSCHEID.

References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,916,890 Newbauer July 4, 1933 1,984,319 Newbauer Nov. 7, 1933 2,139,909 Park Dec, 13, 1938 2,235,526 Lucas Mar. 18, 1941 2,253,332 Jackson Aug. 19, 941 

